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Film Fridays 5/5: The Lego Movie

The final installment in our Film Fridays series comes from Joshua Ng… Oh, and just a reminder, the post with the most likes/comments on Facebook, shares on Twitter, and clicks in general wins its writer a little prize.

*****

After recently watching the Lego Movie, it has become one of my favourite films!

With all the hype surrounding this film, including from friends saying ‘Oh, you’ll love it, it’s like it was made for you,’ I was very sceptical whether it would be any good, but my opinion changed very quickly.

From the very beginning of the film, I was drawn in by the funny animation style, which, I’m sure struck a nostalgic chord with most of us who played Lego as kids. The film then launched into one of the catchiest theme tunes I have EVER heard, which had me hooked. Here it is, in case you haven’t seen the film yet (beware – this will be in your head FOREVER)

This all topped off with the jokey atmosphere and fast-paced action scenes and a very simple story plot, meant it was simply a feel-good and fun movie!

The plot is simple: a normal guy (Emmet) stumbles across an artefact which can stop the plan of the bad guy (Lord Business), and so he sets out on a journey to gather comrades to defeat the bad guy, using this artefact. This leads to a journey where he meets a mixture of quirky and interesting characters, interacting in a colourful and crazy world.

There are nearly no limitations to what they can build or do, which gives that sense of boundless creativity (not too dissimilar to when I played with lego as a child!). At one point, one of the characters creates a motorbike out of parts found in an alleyway and uses it to escape (by then also converting it into a plane later!).

The end of the film, in a surreal twist introduces the ‘man upstairs’ who has created [what he hopes is] the orderly Lego world, and his fun-loving son (also dictating the storyline) tells him that he shouldn’t be bound by the ‘instruction manual’ and that he should be more free and creative to play with the Lego world.

The message shown to us – which is common in many films – where ‘rules are just a guideline’ and ‘it’s fine as long as it’s fun’, promotes an attitude of living solely by our own desires and dreams, which leads to the separation from the true creator of all things, and the rules which he has ordained; rules which aren’t to stop our fun, but are actually there for our own good (unlike in the Lego Movie).

The movie, though ‘awesome’, has a powerful underlying message which should not be taken lightly. I do hope that this movie, which I thoroughly recommend, would inspire you to do your own research and find an unbiased view of our creation and purpose on this world. I can only hope you would see the ‘man upstairs’ as he truly is.